Harmonious Monks

This place is a great bar. Every time my husband and I come here we have an absolute blast! We are loyal patrons of this bar, specifically since the bar’s top priority is ensuring that their clientele have a great time. The food isn’t too shabby either (for bar food). Harmonious Monks has a very laid back ‘come as you are’ environment… If that’s what you are looking for, then you will love it!

This is not about the food or the service. This is about the experience. Harmonious Monks equips you with liter beers and tambourines, you don’t need much more for a good time.

I am so disappointed with the lack of service and hospitality. My husband, friend and I sat and waited at a table for over 30 minutes without anyone coming over to take our order. Their server Ethan is extremely rude and condescending. I have never had such horrible service in such a hole in the wall. They should be begging for my business. Call me pretentious… I don’t care.

On a Friday night this place is packed and loud, so be prepared to potentially share a table with complete strangers, but it is fun. The staff sing solo and lead sing alongs during their wait shift… so, basically, one minute you’re telling a server your drink order and the next he’s on stage bringing the ladies to tears. It’s fantastic! Go there!

Came with work colleagues for a get together and this place is painfully average. The food is mediocrity squared, and the drinks are so expensive. $ 7.50 for a Jack and Coke is excessive if you ask me.
The queso dip is runny, lightly
cheese-​flavored glue. The crab cakes smell fishy, and the nachos straight-​up stunk.
This will be the only time to come to this place even though the staff are very friendly.
Here’s the thing, the place is fun. They have a pretty entertaining show, and the music is great. It’s a dive, but it’s a fun dive. I likely won’t go back because that’s not my scene. The cardinal sin for me was the restroom. The stench of mildew is something that I simply cannot abide by, and that place reeked of it.
I would have given one star, but the entertainment of the live music and some good times brought them up an extra star. Apparently these issues don’t make everyone as unhappy as me, and that’s fine. But I think this is a great candidate for the TV show Bar Rescue.

Great, funny, talented staff! Unfortunately, the owner is on the stage 100% of the time and turns his guitar up TOO LOUD like it’s his own show. Let your staff run the show! They’re awesome!

This was my first time ever coming here.
Location was a little weird, tucked in the corner of the shopping center.
We arrived around 7:30 and were the only people in there besides the staff for a solid hour. The bartendar that night was amazing and friendly.
Ordered the nachos… very poor serving size for the price. Nothing special.
A little pricey for drinks.
All in all a very fun and engaging place!

The wannabe movie stars make this place very awkward. I love the piano bars and howling at the moon from new orleans and columbus, oh. Dont expect this.
Maybe i would have liked it with a bigger buzz but i couldnt get a refill. My waitress was too busy trying to be the next american idol in which she was far from.

I went here while visiting some friends in the Jacksonville area.
The atmosphere was something really different and fun but the food was just ok.
My ceasar salad had WAY too much pepper in and on it, as did my friend’s steak (it was blue cheese crusted, but the pepper was still overpowering). Also, there was shell fragments in the crap cakes that we were splitting. In addition, everything was overcooked (a «medium» steak with no pink in it and the crab cakes definitely tasted overcooked). Together we spent over $ 50 and I guess I just expect the food to be a little better for that price.
That being said, it still gets 3 stars for the different atmosphere. Yeah, it’s so loud that you can’t hear the person next to you talking, but who cares, you get tambourines and a dinner show!

If I were into singing & dancing on top of tables, this place would totally be where I hung out — but I’m not.
I’ve gone to Harmonious Monks on numerous occasions. Though, it’s never my choice of places to go. The service is always so-​so. The servers are fun if you get one that is having a good day. We’ve had some pretty rude servers on occasion. They’re rare, but I don’t forget bad service.
The place gets a little too loud & too packed for me. If you love singing, table dancing, tambourines, an older crowd, and gigantic beers — this place is for you.

What a great time! I have heard of Harmonious Monks but over the years still had not taken an oppurtunity to go. Great food! Great entertainment! If you looking for a place on a Friday night to just hang with friends and let loose this is the place to go. Our waiter Ethan not only was spot on he is a great entertainer as well!!!

Haven’t been in years but was always a good place for a group celebrating a special occasion. Music is fun, they really involve the audience and the food is surprisingly good.

The women’s bathroom is nasty. Truck stop worthy! There was no crowd. You can’t have karaōke with no crowd. There was a sign on the door stating Ladies Night — but the bar was 80% men… so am I missing something? I’ve tried this bar three times… and always the same. Avoid the bathroom and it will be an OK night.

If you don’t go out very often, an you want to get drunk, be loud, and have a crazy good time with a large group of friends, then this place is for you. Be sure to leave your purse in the car.

I honestly don’t see what the fuss is about.
For one, it is obnoxiously loud in there. Insanely loud. My friends and I could not hear a word we were saying. In fact, we couldn’t even get a table facing each other. We had to sit in a line so we could only see the person right next to us.
For once, the wait staff was great. He was friendly, very helpful and attentive. But after one drink of not hearing anything but bad music pounding in our ears, we had to go.
I don’t think I will be going back. It just isn’t my style. I prefer places where I can drink, talk and hear myself think.

I haven’t tried any food, and drinks sometimes take a while to get, but that’s because the server’s have a million people to serve on the busy nights and are busy entertaining everyone while singing and dancing on stage.
It’s a ton of fun! I love the tambourines. Some of my friends think that HM has too old of a crowd to have fun, but since I’m a person that could care less about who’s around me and I’m not trying to find some random guys to hook up with, I love it. If you’re carefree, genuinely carefree, then go here. Have a blast, laugh it up. My friend and I think it’s hilarious with the singing and mini dance routines and I love shaking the tambourine thinking I’m a pro.
It also gives me a slight Coyote Ugly vibe because there are sometimes girls dancing on the bar top or in booths. Just don’t touch the light fixtures! I heard that people have gotten in trouble for that.
I’d say go if you’re looking for something different from all the other bars in Jacksonville. A+ in my book.

No cover on the Saturday we went, — yes, FREE admission. The crowd was mostly older people in their late 30’s, 40’s and up. Many of them were dancing on seats and tables. The vibe and atmosphere was very festive, and brought to mind the song Margaritaville. Many of the songs were older rock songs and some country. After the sub-​par food lasttime, I decided not to order the food this time. I’d take my mom here. She might enjoy the revelry.

I guess, if you are into this kind of thing, it is great. I, however, am not that into this kind of thing. But I still found ways to enjoy myself, so that must mean something!
It kind of reminds me of Coyote Ugly, except for three things:
1) They serve food. Fried bar food, but its still pretty tasty.
2) The servers are not gorgeous model types in tiny clothes.
3) The servers get up on stage and sing and play instruments with the band, showcasing their talents and not their «goods».
This place can be a lot of fun. It gets loud, it’s kind of wild, and there is a lot of interaction between the crowd and the band. They make fruity shots that will loosen you up. And it’s always exciting and somewhat prideful when YOUR waiter jumps on stage to show off their skillz.
I do not dig the location, way out in deep Mandarin. But, its a nice enough place and a good time while you’re there. Just name a DD or plan on an expensive taxi ride.

talented and singing waiters.
dancing on the bar/​tables.
live bands.
1 liter beer mugs.
no cover.
packed crowds.
All in Jacksonville?
Well believe it baby!
My friends and I make this dive bar a MUST every time I am in town :)

Harmonious Monks is hands down the most entertaining way to enjoy a night out in Jacksonville — Probably top ten in all of Florida.
This theme restaurant boasts the «World’s Most Talented Waitstaff», and it’s no joke. From the time dinner is on (about 7 — 8pm) it is live and lively entertainment.
Good times are a sure thing as the very person who just brought you a round of liter sized beers jumps up on the stage and belts out a tune.
Some of the music is classics, some is interactive, but all of it builds up to the late night show, when audience members are encouraged to get up and dance on their seats, whack tambourines, and sing along.
Never a cover charge, the food is pretty tasty, and the staff fantastic.
Where else can you get dinner and a great show for just the price of dinner? Five stars!